Special Features

The Annual E3 Awards: 2006

With the GBA pretty much in the rearview mirror at this point, E3 2006 was all about the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. It seems as though this year, Sony's little wonder is finally getting some of the love it deserves. With more than a few potential triple-A games in the works, it looks like the PSP might finally be ready to give the seemingly unstoppable Nintendo DS a run for its money. With a glut of awesome titles also in the works, the DS is all set to put up a challenging fight. Maybe 2006 will be the year of the war of the handhelds. Check out our five faves here.

5. Killzone: Liberation (PSP)

A surprise hit for the PSP came in the form of Sony's Killzone: Liberation at this year's E3 show. We actually spent a great amount of time with the game a few weeks before the convention even kicked off, and as such, we got to experience the very cool multiplayer side of things, as well as the promising single-player content.

With an all-new isometric 3D graphics engine, we felt that the multiplayer had more in common with the likes of Konami's Metal Gear franchise than Sony's Killzone series. The multiplayer is very simple and surprisingly deep. You'll be able to engage the enemy players in knock-down gun battles, with secondary weapons like grenades providing excellent covering fire. Littered around the levels are ammo supply crates which will also grant access to other firearms -- like the super-cool exploding-tip crossbow -- and health packs for on the spot recovery.

The 3D view makes for some pretty intense battles. But let's not forget the mission-based squad-influenced single-player campaign either. Through a clever use of macro commands, you'll be able to take your NPC teammates on missions and make them act in an intelligent fashion. On the whole, Killzone: Liberation is one of the coolest, most promising PSP titles currently in development, and we look forward immensely to getting hands-on with more complete code very soon.

Star Fox DS got gamers excited for a number of reasons. For one, it's a beloved Nintendo property that many people remember playing on their SNES back in the day. After the words "Star Fox" grabbed their attention, attendees were then grabbed by a new element of gameplay that requires players to draw their flight path on a touch-screen map, avoiding asteroids and intercepting enemies on their way to reach important targets. When it was time for a fight, players found themselves in classic barrel-rolling, laser-blasting Star Fox combat -- now controlled entirely with the touch screen. Some gamers might miss being able to fly using the directional pad, but taking the game off rails and letting the player fly in any direction to take out enemies looks like a solid decision. There's also reason to believe that the multiplayer game (planned to support four players with wi-fi and eight locally) could really add to the experience.

Not only does Star Fox DS look like it's doing something new, it's taking care that the basic underlying gameplay can hold up on its own without any gimmicks or "innovations." This approach is very well suited to developing for a platform that has a microphone, two-displays, and touch-screen controls that often have developers biting off more than they can chew (or at least more than they feel like chewing). It's a philosophy that any game would do well to follow, really.